POETRY COMPETITION - WE HAVE A WINNER!

The poems have been read, scrutinised and judged by our well known radio gardening celebrity Gareth Austin.  The poem that he thought was the worthy winner was penned by Noeleen Walker from Fahan.  Gareth picked Noeleens poem ‘Genesis of a Gardener’ because it flows well, contains lots of gardening terms, humour and play on words. He also thinks verse 5 is super as it really catches how he feels when he sees the slimy trails left by slugs and also thinks slugocide is a great word!

Here is the winning poem. 

GENESIS  OF A GARDENER

I recall with great nostalgia

Times when ‘Teacher Bryce’ would say

Pack up your school books children

We’ll be gardening today.

She taught us all the basics

We planted, sowed and dug

We raked and hoed and watered

And waged war on enemy bugs.

We sowed seeds of all descriptions

With great determination

And observed with satisfaction

Their successful germination.

We raised sunflowers tall and stately

We grew lettuce, beetroot, peas

There were biennials and perennials

And fragrant annuals for the bees.

My teacher realized even then

That on gardening I was hooked

For long after I had left the school

She sent catalogues and books.

Inspired by information

That I gleaned from all those tomes

I assumed the role of ‘Gardener’

In our modest plot at home.

In approval of my efforts

(Really no one cared a bit)

 I was given carte blanche

To chop and change as I thought fit

I cultivated, propagated

I pruned and mowed with glee

It’s still a work-in-progress

I’d need help from Alan T!

It’s a therapeutic hobby

For if I’m feeling a bit low

An hour spent in the garden

And the blues are sure to go.

But slimy trails on my prized plants

Now that, I can’t abide

I don my big Doc Martens

And commit mass slugocide!

I’ve launched many a futile ‘jihad’

On ground-elder, nettles and docks

I’ve chased all round the garden

After dandelion clocks!

My potting shed’s my haven

I work in it with pride

And if there’s someone to avoid

It’s a splendid place to hide.

The love of gardening is a seed

That once sown never dies

And to this same old adage

I can surely testify.

My fingers may not be so green

As yours were, that is true

But if you’re looking down on me

Mrs. Bryce – A Big Thank You.

More next week

Thank you to all who entered there are some fantastic entries, so many in fact I will be printing another runner up next week.  The winning books by Klaus Laitenberger and me will be in the mail to Noeleen today.

Gabion baskets are getting more imaginative and here is a new design called the Archimedes Spiral 

Gabion Baskets

I have mentioned Gabion Baskets a few times and said how impressive the basic types look in garden design.  The traditional wire meshed baskets hold the stone in place on many embankments and building developments but smaller ones can look great as a feature in the garden. I recently came across this great design from a company in the UK (see pic).  It’s called the Archimedes Spiral and made from mesh usually seen in goat pens. They are delivered in kit form and take a couple of hours to assemble. The cost is about €160 for the mesh, €100 for the stone and about another €50 for the plants so the whole creation will be in excess of €300.  What do you think?  Would you spend that amount of money on a planter?